One ounce GOP hypocrisy with a dash of craziness

After criticizing Democrats for endangering relations with Turkey via a proposed resolution to recognize Armenian Genocide during WWI, guess what they decide is suddenly important?

Nineteen US lawmakers, nearly all of them from President George W. Bush's Republican party, have introduced a bill in the House of Representatives backing UN membership for Taiwan, a move that could anger China.

It was introduced on Thursday at the House Foreign Affairs Committee by 18 Republican legislators and one Democrat, with the move led by New Jersey Republican Representative Scott Garrett, congressional records showed.

The bill said Taiwan and its 23 million people "deserve membership in the United Nations" and that the United States should fulfill a commitment "to more actively support Taiwan's membership in appropriate international organizations."

Not that I don't support Taiwan, but obviously this will go nowhere because even the mere mention of it faces the ire of China and risks our relations. My point here is just to illustrate further the GOP's incessant hypocrisy.

And speaking of Taiwan, thankfully no one actually in the House is as crazy as this guy:

State Rep. AARON SCHOCK, who is running for Congress, has some audacious — well, maybe “shocking” is a better word — ideas about foreign policy...

In particular, Schock’s plan to offer nuclear arms to Taiwan if China doesn’t go along with U.S. policy toward Iran seemed odd to me.

An international relations expert I checked with agreed, saying that idea not only shows “incredible naivete,” but, if carried out, probably would lead to war between China and Taiwan.

Shock, a Peoria Republican, at 26, is the youngest member of the Illinois General Assembly. He also is one of the three Republican candidates to replace retiring U.S. Rep. RAY LaHOOD, R-Peoria, in Illinois’ 18th Congressional District. Schock made his intentions official Oct. 27 with events in Peoria Heights and Springfield.

In his speech, he noted that President RONALD REAGAN came to the aid of such rebel groups as the Contras in Nicaragua and the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan. Schock said Reagan also provided freedom movements such as Solidarity in Poland “with CIA training in organizing, and all the equipment necessary to function.”

“Any freedom movement in a totalitarian country faces enormous difficulty in organizing against the unlimited resources of a ruthless state,” Schock said in the speech. “Those freedom movements need help from free nations. In Congress, I will advocate for them.

Schock said he would propose spending the same amount to support “freedom fighters inside Iran” as Iran gives Hezbollah in Lebanon each year

“Let’s turn the tables,” Schock said.

The money could be used to train underground leaders in how to organize and prevent detection, satellite phones, communications, radio broadcasts from nearby countries, “and eventually arms,” Schock said.

“Funding a freedom movement to overthrow the regime will cause massive turmoil in Iran,” he went on. “No American troops will be necessary. We will simply facilitate the people’s overthrow of the Iranian regime, just (as) we did successfully all over Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, Ethiopia and Nicaragua.

In regard to Taiwan, Schock said the U.S. should put more pressure on China and Russia to go along with tougher economic sanctions against Iran.

“If China continues to be irresponsible about nuclear proliferation in Iran, we should tell them that if they do not care about proliferation — and since they are enablers of it in Iran — that if they don’t change their position, we will sell Pershing nuclear missiles to Taiwan for their defense.”

“Non-proliferation will either be enforced universally or not at all — it is their choice,” Schock continued. “The Chinese will come around, I have no doubt.”

I thought this seemed bold, to say the least, coming from a new candidate for Congress, so I solicited an outside view from PAUL DIEHL, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Diehl, an expert on international conflict, has written or edited 17 books and more than 100 articles on international relations matters.

Diehl, who said he’s personally a political independent, said Taiwan is a “very sensitive issue” in the region.

“The statement about selling nuclear weapons to Taiwan reflects an incredible naivete about international relations,” he said of Schock’s idea. “Transferring nuclear weapons technology to any state is a violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It would also encourage other states to do the same, specifically to enemies of the United States.

“I can’t think of anything more provocative to China than giving Taiwan nuclear weapons, assuming that they would even foolishly accept them. A nuclear Taiwan would not be strong enough to deter China and indeed (would) probably provoke an attack before the missiles could be deployed.”

Man, what a wacko!